SPRINGFIELD, MASS. (WHDH) - Loved ones are mourning the loss of three women found dead at a kidnapping suspect’s Springfield home as investigators share more about the man who lived there.
Authorities found the bodies of Ernestine Ryans, 47, and America Lyden, 34, both of Springfield, and Kayla Escalante, 27, of Ludlow, at Stewart Walden’s home last week, Hampden District Attorney Anthony Gulluni said.
Lyden’s family members laid flowers outside the home to remember her.
“She’s a mother. She’s a daughter. She’s a niece. She’s a sister,” her sister Wanda Estrada said. “They didn’t deserve this. America was a loving girl.”
Friends and family of Escalante also stopped by as they grieve the loss of their loved one.
“I was shocked,” Ashley Gebo, Escalante’s friend, said. “I woke up this morning feeling like this still wasn’t real.”
Ryans had just moved to Massachusetts from Connecticut, according to her brother, Anthony Ryans.
“She meant a lot to a lot of people,” he said. “She was kind. She was caring. She would do anything for you.”
Walden, who is being held on $2 million cash bail for kidnapping charges, has a history of violence against women, investigators said.
The 40-year-old was arrested last October in Springfield following an alleged assault on a woman. He led officers on a chase before they used stun guns to take him down, police said.
When he was released, court documents show Weldon cut off his GPS ankle bracelet and wasn’t found until last week when he was arrested for holding a woman captive for a month.
Investigators found the bodies of the three women two days later at his home.
The search continues for possibly more bodies.
(Copyright (c) 2024 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)